


Chai

by 01123581321345589



Category: Detroit: Become Human (Video Game)
Genre: Comfort, Fluff, I Wrote This Instead of Sleeping, Insomnia, M/M, Multi, Overworking, Sleep
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-08-14
Updated: 2020-09-06
Packaged: 2021-03-06 02:41:25
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 4
Words: 9,756
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25896118
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/01123581321345589/pseuds/01123581321345589
Summary: Jerry works at a coffee counter in a convenience store (among many places). Gavin is one of his regular customers. After a particularly heavy case he tries to provide some care for the tired detective who isn't taking proper care of himself.
Relationships: Jerry - Relationship, Jerry(s) & Gavin Reed
Comments: 10
Kudos: 37





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you to Orangebubble of the Detroit: New ERA server, for being an amazing beta reader!

It was raining as he stepped out of his car that evening.

Whilst the cold and harsh downpour blasted him and he grimaced in response, his shoulders bunching up beneath his ears and drawings his jacket forward with his hands balled into fists in his pockets, he did have to acknowledge that the sensation  _ did _ feel somehow refreshing to his sleep-deprived self.

He tried to remember when he had last got a full night’s sleep as he walked towards the doors of the convenience store.

It was Friday.

\--

Monday he had stayed at work, engrossed in a case, on the verge of getting some answers if only he had that  _ one _ more piece, just that single tiny snippet of information that could link the information together. Scouring over every page and every suspect, every victim, for anything that had been unnoticed. He could practically feel it just out of his grasp. Trafficked girls being found dead all over the place and he was too fucking incompetent to see where they were coming from with  _ so much _ information in front of him.

He stumbled indoors at 4 am, and was back in work at 8 am. The largest coffee he could acquire from the convenience store firmly in his grip, and a warning glare and a hint of a snarl at anyone who came within a range that could risk it being spilled.

The coffee must have done the trick because Tuesday they finally cracked the case. That evening he joined the team of police officers to raid the building all the evidence had pointed to.

He had expected to find evidence of the trafficking operation they had been working on, a few saved victims perhaps. Perhaps a few corpses that would make some of the rookies hit that first hurdle in their careers where they wonder if they were truly up for the task. 

There was always one person who vomited.

He had not expected to find an entire industrial operation, with so many victims they needed to call for backup to process them and escort them. So many women, some trapped in rooms they had to break into, some who needed to be taken to hospital. They had all known it was a fairly large operation. They had never accounted for the sheer fucking magnitude.

Anyone there who could have been caught was already gone. Was there a mole in their team? Why did everything still feel so wrong?

He stayed at work that night. He wanted to help with getting victim statements, contacting families, finding places to stay. He knew his colleagues found him curt and abrasive at the best of times, but honestly, anyone with a soul would be heart-broken when it comes to taking this part of the job. He wanted to do his part in that, but also he wanted  _ some  _ satisfaction that they saw things through and did right by those who were found still alive.

All 132 of them.

Statement processing took most of Wednesday, and with the exception of a couple of journeys out for more coffee, he continued. He took statements. He contacted families. He contacted interpreters for those who didn’t speak English.

He did not stop.

Eventually, he was sent home.

Not that that made any difference. He grabbed another coffee on the way home, not even looking up from his phone as he did so. Scouring over information all over again. New statements. Old information. Something still *felt wrong*.

He laid on his couch at around 3 am Thursday morning and scoured the pages again, and again. Scribbling notes now and then. Scratching things out that stopped making sense. Question marking dead-ends. Circling information that may not have been noticed before.

Gavin didn’t know when he fell asleep. But he woke up still sitting upright. His elbows still pressed hard into the coffee table and his head rested in his hands.

He was late for work that morning. No one said anything about it. They didn't dare. He appeared with another coffee in hand. At this point, he was practically running on coffee. There was nothing left of Gavin to drive his body or mind. The work would have to be credited to the dark bean juice that piloted him through the day.

People from the bust were beginning to pat themselves on the back and there was grand talk of a job well done all around. He kept his head down. He couldn’t say it felt wrong anymore. There was nothing left inside him to muster up any emotion.

He was dragged along to a bar to celebrate. Others kept patting him and grinning, chattering endlessly about the good work he had done. He grimaced and stared at his pint glass. And the endless stream of pint glasses that followed it. He didn’t pay for a single drink the whole night.

He dragged himself home around midnight, muttering a few goodbyes and retreating to his sofa.

When was the last time he had seen his bed?

He went to stand but with the dizziness of the volumes of alcohol inside him, and the coffee that had long worn off, he gave up and shifted into a horizontal position across the sofa.

He would move when he had the energy again.

He picked up his phone in the dark living room and the glare of the screen blasted across his face. He opened the camera and groaned. His beard was horrifically unkempt after a week of going non-stop. His eyes looked sunken and dark. He couldn’t tell if he was paler or if it was the reflection of the screen brightness playing tricks on him.

He switched to a browser and scrolled through his social media for a while. Anything to shut out work for a few minutes. Anything to think about something else. Anything to not be haunted by the endless victims of the last week.

He had to find a distraction. He couldn’t stand it when they became the background characters of his dreams.

Between social media and a few little mobile apps he had taken to over the years, he may have dozed for an hour or two somehow.

Gavin pushed himself into some semblance of a morning routine: Wake up. Brush Teeth. Shower.  _ Shave today, for Christ’s sake _ . Coffee. Work.

He’d no sooner sat at his desk before someone came over and confirmed that little sick feeling that he’d had all along.

As huge as the operation they had found was, it was a small part of something vastly bigger.

\--

The sliding doors set off a soft chime as he walked into the store. Gavin didn’t even notice it. His shoulders loosening from beneath his ears lightly as the dry warmth embraced him. It was uncomfortably prickly against his damp skin. It fought against the refreshing wakefulness of the rain.

He walked to the small corner of the store where a stand held a clerk who made fresh coffee. It wasn’t a posh fancy coffee place. They did all the stuff that you would have gotten in one of those places, but Gavin wasn’t interested in that. He just wanted it black, no sugar, roasted, and a litre of it.

He leaned on the counter and searched for his wallet in his back pocket.

Except it wasn’t there.

\--

Jerry looked over to thedoors as they announced the entry of a customer, and recognised one of his regulars.

**[The detective with the frown is back again.]**

[He came in this morning, too]

[And at lunchtime. Oh, he left his wallet behind. It’s under the counter on the right…]

[And twice yesterday]

[The day before that, he-]

**[Alright. We know he’s regular. How many times has he been in this week?]**

A pause came amongst the transmissions in his system from the hivemind. Clearly, they wanted to collaborate and calculate without distracting him from his work.

[Including the weekend, 16.]

**[Is that safe? He doesn’t look so good.]**

Another, longer pause.

[Judging by the hours of his visits. It’s possible he’s been using the coffee to ward off sleep. Judging by previous stints of the same behaviours, if he is a detective, as we suspect, it’s possible he’s part of the big bust in the news this morning. He may have been working to close that case.]

**[Poor guy. We hope he doesn’t come to our counter today then. With any luck he’ll finally just buy food and go.]**

Gavin approached and Jerry smiled welcomingly. Not that it was noticed. Gavin leaned on the counter in front of him. He looked so small when he hunched like that. So tired. He reminded Jerry of some of the younger children at Pirates’ Cove, who would lean on anything when they were tired. A subroutine in his head played out the idea of lifting Gavin onto his hip so he could rest a while and not get his fingers trapped anywhere dangerous as he did so.

**[Or perhaps it wasn’t that case. He’s back at the counter.]**

[Ask him!]

[He will get sick if he keeps doing this, and then he won’t be effective for work at all. Perhaps try and offer a different drink?]

“Shit.”

“Everything alright, sir?” Jerry raised a brow. That wasn’t quite the greeting he had expected. Not that he had expected more than the usual  _ “Extra Large black coffee, no sugar.” _

“I-… My wallet-… Last time I had it-…” Gavin trailed for a moment, trying to remember where he had been when he last had his wallet, felt like trying to wade through treacle. Jerry practically felt the exhaustion in every slurred word. 

“Oh. We had a wallet left here earlier. Can you describe it? It might be yours.”

“Well-… It’s plain and black and looks like a wallet. I’m not sure what else to say.”

Jerry tried not to chuckle at the irritation in the man's voice. Clearly, the detective had a temper. He felt a little guilty. He knew it was his wallet. But it was store protocol to ask for a description of the wallet or contents first.

Besides. How else was he ever going to find out what his tired customer’s name was?

“Perhaps there’s some form of ID in the wallet, a bank card with a name on, perhaps?” He offered, perhaps unsubtly.

“Mmn. It has my driver’s licence. Gavin Reed.”

“I see.”

Jerry reached beneath the counter for the wallet and held it open in front of him. Clear to the customer, and any store cameras, that he was not removing any contents.

On the inside was a little plastic window, a driver’s licence behind it. And the name  _ Gavin Reed _ across the front.

“Well. Here you go, Mr. Reed. Or is it detective?” Jerry smiled and handed the wallet to him.

“Only when I’m on duty. How did you know?”

“You wear your badge on your trouser pocket, but you’re not in uniform. You seem too young to be any kind of senior, you also buy coffee more frequently before a case is solved in the papers. So… I suppose it’s an assumption based on information I can observe.”

Gavin looked up at Jerry and scowled.

“I didn’t know you kept such strict tabs on your customers. I can’t say I had even noticed you serving me.”

Jerry tried not to take it personally.

“Of course. You’re usually looking at the counter or your wallet. You order and you leave. I don’t expect you to notice. Saving those skills for the job, I suppose?”

[Damn it, that was too sassy!]

**[We know! We don’t know why we said that!]**

Gavin felt like he should be giving the counter clerk a piece of his fucking mind, but there was very little of his mind left right now for him to make an adequately scathing response. Besides, looking up at the red-head gave him a strange sense that he wasn’t being made fun of. The eyes remained calm and kind. Almost like they actually gave a shit about him.

“Extra large, black, no sugar. Right? Or would you like to try something new?”

“I know what I like.”

“Not one to take risks, huh? I-“

[Stop, with the sass?!]

**[We’re sorry! It just happened!]**

Jerry sighed. “Sorry. One coffee… How is your case?”

“Why do you want to know?!”

“Just making conversation, Mr. Reed.”

Gavin shook his head and let his shoulders down as Jerry turned and activated the portafilter. The guy had just given him back his wallet. He’s just  _ observed _ that there seemed to be no malice. The guy was just being nice.

“Case ended. We think there’s more to it, but for now, we’re done.” He offered.

“I see! Well, at least that gives you a more restful weekend.”

“… You have served me a lot this week, then?”

Jerry smiled awkwardly. He’d found that explaining to customers that he was part of a hive and technically, even though it was a 24-hour convenience store, it was indeed always him behind the counter, just not necessarily this particular unit, did tend to make humans a little uncomfortable.

“Something like that. I’ve seen you buy a lot of coffee, but I don’t see you buy any food.”

“Convenience store food is junk.” Gavin retorted quickly. Jerry laughed.

“I see. You prefer good food over convenient food.”

Gavin’s stomach growled on command.

“… Yes. When I get time to cook it.”

“You haven’t eaten?!”

“Look, shut up and just make the coffee, alright?!”

The portafilter seemed to be less grinding now and Jerry nodded, those beans would be adequately ground. Jerry moved it into place but did not immediately press start.

“If you want good food, I get off in about 20 minutes, and I know a place.”

Gavin looked back up at him, less with a scowl and more incredulous.

“Look, I don’t know what the fuck you think you know about me, but if you’re trying to ask me on a date-“

Jerry’s eyes widened and he covered his face and stuttered.

“No! No… Sir, I just want to make sure you  _ eat _ something. You can’t survive on coffee alone!”

The blush retreating from his cheeks, he lowered his hands.

“I’m sorry. It was unprofessional for me to even offer. I’ll just-“

Gavin snorted. Jerry seemed genuinely shocked that he’d even perceived the words as anything outside of innocent. And that gaze again. Why did Gavin keep getting the impression this guy gave a shit?

“… Fine. 20 minutes. You’re paying for it.”

Jerry nearly fell over into the coffee machine.

“Really?!”

“Sure. What was it you said earlier about taking risks? Perhaps I should. Just-… Don’t try and chop me up and hide me in the boot of your car, I’m armed, alright?”

Jerry laughed nervously and turned to lean on the counter in front of Gavin.

“I wouldn’t do that. I don’t even own a car.”

Gavin was caught off-guard and laughed in response. Perhaps this guy would be the mood-boost he needed for the weekend.

“If you’re willing to take a risk on dinner, how about you take a risk on your coffee?”

Gavin sighed.

“You’re just gonna get me to try some overly expensive, fancy, fourty squirts of syrup, skinny, heavy crea-“

“No! Well… Not quite. And I’ll only charge for the normal coffee. Don’t tell the manager, alright?”

Jerry’s expression seemed sincere again. Gavin wondered what was in it for Jerry, to do these things for him. He shrugged.

“Alright, fine.”

“Are you lactose intolerant?”

“Nah. Milk is fine, I just prefer it in cereal.”

“Alright, and what about spices?”

Gavin’s eyebrows raised.

“I don’t want chili, I want a coffee!” He said, but he smirked.

“And you’ll get one… I mean like cardamom, clove, that sort of thing. I figure if you’re into good food, you know your spices, right?”

Gavin tried to hold back a smile, but it failed. It was the most discreet of compliments, in a very understated way, but it worked for him. He nodded.

“Alright. Fine. Do your worst.”

Jerry pulled together the ingredients and stepped back in front of the machine, obscuring it from Gavin’s sight. Gavin looked around the store as the android worked at the machine, before turning around with the drink and placing it before Gavin.

“Try it before I put a lid on. If you don’t like it, I can always throw it away and make a black coffee.”

Gavin looked at the golden-brown milky liquid in front of him with some scrutiny before lifting it to his lips. He sniffed it first and looked up at Jerry, still with some suspicion. Jerry raised his eyebrows and nodded back at the drink.

There was no mistaking the light in Gavin’s eyes as the flavours hit his taste buds.

“Mm! ‘S nice.”

Jerry grinned and Gavin pushed the money into his hand and made a point of remembering to put his wallet away.

“20 minutes. I’ll meet you outside.” Gavin said, wandering back out into the street.

The rain had stopped, the sun had set, and the streetlights shined off the puddles. He felt full of excited energy. What the hell was in this drink?!

Jerry smirked and cleaned up the counter and pulled out the full portafilter, emptying the unused coffee into the bin. With the amount of coffee, Gavin was used to chugging, and the spices being the most powerful part of the drink he received. Jerry hoped he wouldn’t notice that there was no coffee in the drink. What Gavin had taken with him was a decaf chai latte. He hoped the detective would stay awake long enough for some food at that Italian place just down the street that he’d heard people talk wonders of in the store.

[A date?!]

**[It’s not a date. Gavin is hungry. He didn’t buy any food, and we suspect he isn’t taking care of himself. We just want to make sure he eats something!]**

[Humans go to restaurants on dates.]

[Humans also go to restaurants because they’re hungry.]

[We like him, don’t we?]

**[It isn’t like** **_that!_ ** **]**

[Why not?]

**[Can we just finish our shift, please?!]**

\--


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to afor.alex of the Detroit: New ERA server, for being an amazing beta reader!

Jerry was relieved to see the end of his shift and quickly removed his apron, passing it to, well, himself as he came to take over the next shift. He smiled and tilted his head down.

**[Do we look alright?]**

[We thought this wasn’t a date?]

The newcomer put the apron on and smirked at him.

**[It isn’t! We just don’t want to turn up covered in coffee grounds and schmutz. It gives a bad impression.]**

[He literally knows we’re coming out of work, but we look fine.]

The aproned Jerry quickly neatened the hair of the other.

**[Good. He didn’t see us coming in, did he? We don’t think he knows we’re multiple and we don’t want to freak him out.]**

An eye-roll from Jerry as he stepped behind the counter.

[We deliberately took the back route to the staff entrance. Now go! Before he thinks we’ve stood him up!]

Jerry nodded and gave a shallow wave before making his way towards the exit.

Gavin leaned against the wall casually, his cup half empty in his hand.

“I was beginning to think-“

“I’m sorry! It took a few minutes to pass to the next person on shift.”

Gavin shrugged. He knew from his old beat-work that when you needed to get away, you were pretty much guaranteed to have your relief colleague arrive late, or something go wrong at the last minute.

“I hope you’re not expecting much in the way of conversation. You’ve observed yourself that I had a hard week. I’m exhausted. I’m only eating because you offered. I was ready for bed when I got home, personally.”

“Oh? Well, I suppose that’s what the litre of coffee is for.”

Jerry smiled as he teased, and Gavin frowned again. They began walking in the direction of the restaurant.

“For someone who serves me coffee and barely knows me, you’re a prick, you know that?”

Gavin’s heart wasn’t in it as he said it, and he couldn’t place a finger on why. Every time this guy teased him, he would feel that confrontation rising within him, but then he’d look at his face and just… Know that there was absolutely no ill-intent. Nothing.

He wondered how someone could get to Jerry’s age without losing that bright-eyed naivety and playfulness in their tone. How old was he anyway? He looked around his early 30’s. Not far from himself anyway.

“A prick? Maybe.” Jerry spoke almost as though he was considering it. “But, right now, I’m the prick who is buying you dinner. Perhaps my amusement in watching you scowl at me is what is in this for me.”

“Well, that’s fortunate for you, because that’s all you’re fucking getting.”

Jerry gave an exaggerated shrug.

“Well, I hope you like Italian.”

“It’s better than an empty stomach, or ramen.”

Gavin wondered why he’d been so curt. That one hadn’t been quite so necessary. He could have just said  _ “Italian is fine” _ , perhaps even  _ “thank you” _ . No one would have judged him. Jerry obviously didn’t!

“Good, because we’re here.”

Jerry pulled the door to the restaurant open and politely gestured for Gavin to enter in front of him.

“Are you sure this is a good place? It’s very close-by to your work. It’s not just some dive you come in when you’re hungry after your shift?”

Jerry faltered for a moment. Had he really not noticed?! He ran a hand through the back of his hair uncertainly. A waiter approached them and quickly escorted them to a booth.

Gavin sat down and slid into the booth towards the window. He had to admit, it definitely didn’t smell like a dive. He could smell the difference between a fresh tomato and one out of a jar, and this place was the real deal.

Jerry positioned himself into the seat opposite and gave a nervous snort.

“No, it’s not like that. I’ve heard wonderful things about this place.”

“You’ve  _ heard _ good things?! I thought you had been here before!”

Nope. Clearly Gavin hadn’t noticed. He hadn’t hidden anything, but Jerry supposed that without the old triangles and bands on his clothes, it wasn’t so obvious.

Jerry turned his head slowly to one side and tapped at the LED.

“I can’t eat. I would have no other reason to be here. Unless you count that I can appreciate the wonderful scent of the food.”

Gavin’s eyes widened, and then he scowled again, gripping the edge of the table.

Jerry watched him uneasily. This wasn’t the same fiery scowl from before. This one wasn’t an aid to whatever stand-offish rebuke he might have. This wasn’t a peeved face or a look of surprise to hear a retort. This face was full of something a little more frightening. It was a face he’d seen many times and his LED responded with the mild panic it filled him with.

He sighed. He was never built for an attack. It wasn’t something he cared to repeat in his life. All he could rely on was any ability he had to de-escalate and get out of there.

“You didn’t notice. You’re tired. I’m sorry. I’ll go. I don’t want to cause you any discomfort. I just wanted to make sure you were taken care of. You didn’t seem to be doing it yourself- Not that I think you  _ c-can’t _ look after-… I just w-wanted-… Goodbye, Gavin.”

Gavin crossed his arms and the frown softened a little but didn’t leave. He turned and looked out of the window. He  _ could _ take care of himself just fine. He was a fully grown man and he didn’t  _ need  _ taking care of, but he couldn’t deny that he  _ hadn’t _ been taking care of himself. And someone else noticing and stepping in to do that for him? It felt good. He wrestled with his own disgust with himself for even considering letting that responsibility fall into the hands of a fucking android, and turned back to Jerry as he was just standing to leave.

“No. You said you’d pay. Can’t do that if you’re not here, can you? Sit the fuck down.”

Jerry sat back down immediately.

“Of course! But after that, I’ll leave. I really do apologise. I assumed-“

“Yeah, well you said so yourself that I have never really looked at anything except my wallet or the counter.”

“But you  _ did _ look at me, today.”

Gavin paused uncomfortably. Recalling each time he’d looked up at Jerry. At one point they’d most been leant onto the same counter, barely a foot apart, as Jerry reassured him that he wasn’t doing to turn out to be some kind of serial killer. He’d been so distracted by the kindness in his eyes every time, he hadn’t even looked at his LED.

“Yeah well-… I-… Fuck-…” Gavin stumbled. He couldn’t very well tell the android sat opposite him that he’d been distracted by his  _ eyes _ now, could he?! That’d sound like he was into him. He definitely wasn’t into some fucking android that could make a damned coffee.

A damned *good* coffee. He had to admit. The remains of his cup of spiced goodness sat at the edge of the table, now lukewarm, but still pleasing. Or it had been. It’d look pathetic if he chewed this guy out now and then resumed drinking the drink he’d made.  _ It’d  _ made. Whatever. He stared at the cup. Everything was so difficult to figure out inside his own head, the warmth of the restaurant was like a duvet across him. God, he was so tired!

The awkward silence was broken by a cheery waiter that wanted to take Gavin’s order. A waiter who didn’t even give a second glance to Jerry outside of a polite hello.  _ He _ noticed that it was an android. In seconds. Gavin gritted his teeth. He was supposed to be a fucking detective, and somehow, he didn’t even detect that the android in front of him, LED in plain fucking sight, was a fucking android!

He read something at random off of the menu. The waiter jotted it down and moved away fast, the dark atmosphere around Gavin clearly making him want to get away before he risked being in the blast zone.

Gavin leaned onto his elbows on the table.

God, he was  _ so _ fucking tired. Far too fucking tired to put up a real fight. He figured it wouldn’t hurt to play nice. Eat his food. Get the hell out of there.

His face softened to a more neutral, yet painfully exhausted demeanour. Though as the waiter reappeared with a large bowl of carbonara (is that what he’d ordered? He didn’t even remember) his eyes lit up at the thought of a decent meal. He scooped some onto his fork eagerly, before pausing.

“Your name.”

“Sorry?”

Jerry was caught off-guard. Inside his own system, he was talking amongst himself, trying to establish the best plan of action. Trying to assess risk. A Jerry making way to several roads nearby to ensure he wouldn’t be caught alone with Gavin once they left. He would still be able to return home safely.

“I never asked for your name.” Gavin spoke a little louder, but it was still thick with the sleepiness that was seeping into him.

“Oh! It’s Jerry.”

“Well, Jerry. Thank you for the coffee, and the food.”

He filled his mouth with the forkful of pasta and his eyes flickered shut for a moment.

“Fuck… Fuck, that is good food.”

Jerry sighed with some relief. Clearly Gavin was in no fit state to attack him, and he felt silly for the worry. But the idea that the man who, whilst abrasive, had seemed like someone he’d have enjoyed befriending and learning about just a short time prior, could flick from tired banter, to that look of utter disgust for him in just a flash, made him feel a deep sense of sadness. He hadn’t deserved it, and yet somehow, he wanted to be able to change it. Perhaps it was stupid to expect to ever make a difference for one man, but he felt he would feel guilty if he didn’t at least try.

Jerry leaned into the backrest of the chair and smiled softly.

“I told you I had heard good things, Mr. Reed.”

“’s Gavin.”

Gavin spoke with a mouthful of food before pausing, swallowing and looking up.

“Sorry. Call me Gavin.”

Gavin at least had the good grace to look a little guilty for talking with his mouth full.

“Alright… Gavin.” Jerry smiled again; Gavin seemed to be relaxing somewhat. He wasn’t sure if it was anything he was doing, or just that he was too exhausted to fight right now. Jerry watched the man hunch over his bowl like he was somehow protecting it from the other patrons nearby. “I am glad that the food is to your liking. You’ll feel much better if you have properly eaten.”

Gavin leaned back from the food, a slightly strained expression on his face as he shrugged his jacket off and ran a hand down the front of his shirt.

“I need to pause, I’m definitely going to have indigestion if I keep eating so fast.”

Gavin looked slightly pained as he leaned back into the seat, and Jerry’s face reflected the concern he felt at seeing him look like he was suffering. Watching the hand that had folded onto his abdomen, almost cradling himself softly. Jerry felt the heat in his face that he couldn’t explain. He leaned onto the table and looked down at it to hide his face.

“I’m sorry, I should have thought to slow you.”

A sharp exhale from Gavin. A smug smirk tugging the corner of his lip as he shut his eye, and his expression eased a little.

“Like I’d have stopped because you told me to, you plastic prick.”

Jerry chuckled, the force behind Gavin’s words had vanished.

“No… No, I suppose you wouldn’t have. I hope indigestion won’t ruin your evening.”

  
  


He had expected another comeback, something scathing, something mean, if considerably mumbled and slurred by this point. Something like  _ “Like  _ you _ could be even  _ capable _ of ruining anything”. _ Perhaps a little smarter. But Gavin didn’t say anything.

Looking back up, he could see the steady rise and fall of the human’s chest. The hand that had been cradling his stomach gripe had curled and relaxed. His neck tilted into the seat at an awkward angle.

The latent underlying frown that was there, even when he smiled, had vanished from Gavin’s face. He looked almost innocent at that moment.

Jerry raised an eyebrow. Had Gavin honestly just fallen asleep? He knew the man was exhausted, but he didn’t quite realise how dead-on-his-feet Gavin had been.

He leaned back into the booth and watched Gavin doze for some time. He didn’t even seem to be sleeping lightly. He’d obviously gotten comfortable and was out for the count.

**[He looks adorable when he’s asleep.]**

[Aww! That’s precious!]

[We’re going to have to wake him some time. We’re sure the restaurant won’t appreciate him sleeping in the booth.]

**[We’ll let him rest a little longer, but if they notice, we will wake him.]**

On cue, the waiter returned to ask about the food and Jerry gave him an apologetic smile.

“It’s wonderful, he was really enjoying it. It’s been a long week for him. If I wake him, could you please put the rest in a to-go box?”

The waiter nodded and whisked the bowl away. Leaving the machine with the bill, which Jerry handled and placed to the side.

[He reminds us of when the young children used to fall asleep on us at the park.]

**[We thought the very same thing earlier at the store!]**

[How are we going to get him home?]

[We don’t even know where he lives.]

**[We’re sure he comes to the store by car, so if we can convince him to give us the keys and his address, we can drive him home.]**

[Is there still a risk? If he lives far from here, we might not be able to be close by if something happens.]

**[We don’t think there’s any risk at this point. We shall make sure he gets home safe and come back home ourselves.]**

Jerry leaned over the table and touched Gavin’s arm gently, giving it a light shake.

“Gavin… Let’s get you home, so you can rest.”

The frown seemed to return before Gavin even began to stir.

“Shit… Shit, how long was I out?” Gavin yawned, stretching his arms in front of him. He opened his eyes a sliver. “Ahh, they took the food away! You should have stopped them!”

Jerry gave a half-smile at the detective’s disappointment.

“It’s alright, they’re boxing it up for you to take home. I’m sure you can finish it once you are able to stay awake.”

Gavin looked up at Jerry again, a little surprised that Jerry had thought enough of his tiredness to ask for his meal to be boxed.

Gavin knew people said that the quickest way to a man was through his stomach, but that couldn’t be why he was so willing to soften for this android, right? It had to be the tiredness. He’d get home, sleep it off, and when he woke up he would find a new place to get his coffee from now on. Avoid having to see that green-eyed gaze acting like it gave a shit every time he walked in for a coffee…

That’d be it, right? He could go back to not giving a fuck.

“Did you drive to the store, Gavin? I don’t think you’re fit to drive home.”

Fuck. There he was again. Acting like he cared. Gavin rubbed his eyes and gave an exasperated sigh.

“I’ll get a cab, it’s fine.”

“You could let me drive you home?”

Gavin sat up and made a noise through his teeth, dismissing Jerry’s offer.

“Don’t be fucking stupid. You fed me. You don’t have to be my Mom.”

Jerry’s eyebrows raised.

“I’m not trying to be your mother… I suppose if anything, I’m trying to be a friend.”

“Yeah, well I don’t fucking need one of those either. Thanks, but no thanks.”

Jerry felt hurt. He didn’t expect to be allowed to drive Gavin home outright. And he wasn’t sure the hurt was even that he didn’t want him as a friend. The hurt seemed to be from the implication that Gavin didn’t have any other friends either.

“I never said you needed one.” Jerry began, slowly, trying to figure out the best way to avoid the poor temper of the ever-increasingly tired Gavin. “But if you ever want one. You know where I work.”

Gavin leaned back with his arms folded again. The waiter came and placed the carry-box before him, and took the tab away, thanking Jerry for the payment.

“Why are you doing this for me?”

Jerry watched Gavin’s face. He didn’t know if it was a question posed for a genuine answer, or one that would end in some kind of retort, regardless of the answer.

“Why? I can’t say I’m too sure, to be honest. Other than that I have repeatedly watched you work yourself to exhaustion, and you do an important job, and I suppose I feel a little pain in watching you suffer over and over again. I know it’s not my responsibility to care for a complete stranger, but perhaps the way of fixing that is by not being a complete stranger.”

“Oh.” Gavin looked down as he pulled his jacket back on. “So basically you feel sorry for me.”

“Perhaps I did, a little. I don’t think that’s an unfair thing for me to do. I think that’s something even humans do for each other. But I have to admit, hearing you suggest that you have no friends makes me feel it a little more. I didn’t do any of this because I  _ had _ to. I did it because I  _ wanted _ to.”

“So you saw me as a way to make yourself feel better?” Gavin zipped his coat and quickly stood to make way to the door. “Well, I’m not here for you to pat yourself on the fucking back!”

Jerry jumped up and caught Gavin’s arm as he went to walk away. Gavin turned back to him and snarled.

“Get your fuckin’ hand off of me, before I take it off  _ for _ you.”

“I didn’t do it because  _ I _ wanted to feel better. I did it because I wanted  _ you _ to feel better.”

Gavin paused for a moment. The soft-voiced android that had been so passively flexible to his banter suddenly sounded very imposing. He’d taken bigger in fights in his time, but something told him that he should absolutely shut the fuck up.

“You’re rude, you’re dismissive, you’re abrasive, and if you start warming to someone, you’re worse. You have no friends because you push people away because you’re terrified that if someone gets to know who you are behind closed doors, they’ll use that as power over you. You think I can’t see the fearful reaction in your eyes in the split second between me suggesting I wanted to be friends, and you nixing it as harshly as possible? You couldn’t just say no thanks, because you had to try and convince me that friendship with you was not worth the effort.”

Gavin held still. He didn’t say anything. Was it really like that? Was there really a look of fear in him at the idea of a friend? Was that really why he was pushing people away? It couldn’t be. He just didn’t like other people… Right?

“You saw yourself as a charity case here. I did not. You can think whatever else you want of me once you call your cab, but I will not have you go away passing any kindness off as me being somehow self-serving. You need to accept that some people will think you’re  _ worth _ being kind to.”

The room felt hazy and thick with warmth again and Gavin began to wonder if he was hearing this, or if he was still asleep. This had to be a dream. Jerry let his arm go and he began to walk towards the doors, before turning and stopping to look Jerry directly in the chest. 

He couldn’t bear to look into his eyes. 

He pulled his keys from his pocket and thrust them towards Jerry. Jerry looked down at them and then quizzically back to Gavin.

“It’s on West Grand Boulevard. Jesus Christ. You’d better be able to fuckin’ drive.”

\--


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to DesiredPerfection of the Detroit: New ERA server, for being my beta reader for this chapter!

The walk back to the car was fairly awkward and silent. Jerry was embarrassed for being so abrupt with Gavin, wondering if Gavin’s demeanour was rubbing off on him somehow. Gavin was too busy sulking to even notice.

Gavin pointed out his car as they returned to the parking lot and Jerry let himself into the driver’s side. Gavin sunk into the passenger seat, giving an unsavoury glance as Jerry shifted the seat back and adjusted the mirrors.

“It’s gonna take fuckin’ forever to get that setup back how it was before you fucked with it!” Gavin spoke sharply. “It’s not like you need to drive the thing manually, just flick it to auto. You could have left it how it was!”

Jerry looked around himself at the seat nonchalantly, before tilting his head to look back at Gavin.

“Gavin, if anything goes wrong, I will need to be able to take control of the vehicle. I’m not taking the risk of a horrific crash just because I didn’t push the seat back to be prepared to take over if something happened. Besides, I needed some space for my knees.”

“Fuck off! I’m not _that_ fuckin’ short!”

Jerry’s voice sounded almost like he was tired, himself. He paused for a moment, trying not to let Gavin’s continued surliness push him further.

“I am capable of returning everything exactly to where it was before I moved it. The only thing you will need to adjust for yourself is whatever damage I do to the impressive butt-imprint you’ve made into the seat.”

“My butt isn’t that impressive!”

“What?!” Jerry’s LED flickered red and he looked startled at Gavin’s outburst. 

Gavin gave a smug, mocking smirk, and Jerry wished he could chastise the man for the 30 other versions of himself who stumbled at that moment. The ones who were working and had to restart the processes that had jarred up at the accusation, the ones who were walking somewhere and nearly fell over, several who were pulled out of stasis in panic, and that one unit who was replenishing his thirium reserves and sprayed the contents of his mouth up the wall.

“I meant the imprint in the seat was impressive! I’ve never even-… Not that-… I w-wouldn’t just do that-…” 

“Well, it seems you’re _not_ gay…” Gavin said, but almost to himself. “I’m still trying to figure out what is in this for you. Clearly, it’s not _that_ you were after.”

Gavin folded his arms and slid down in the seat, his chin resting on his chest lazily.

Jerry still hadn’t quite recovered from the accusation.

“I didn’t say that! I n-“

“Oh, so you are gay, just not for me.” Gavin pushed.

It wasn’t even about Jerry’s motive at this point. He realised he was pushing Jerry because there was something distinctly pleasing about watching an android fluster. Such a strangely _human_ reaction, and yet with the vibrant red of the LED, and the dark blue glow across Jerry’s face, there was no denying that he wasn’t human. Gavin wondered again how he had missed it earlier in the store.

“I didn’t say that either!”

“Oh, so you _are-_ “

“Can I j-just s-say-“

“Ooh, which is it going to be?” Gavin asked, before putting on an exaggerated version of Jerry’s voice “ _’I’m not gay, but it’s not that I think there’s anything wrong with that I’m just not gay I promise it’s nothing else.’_ Or is it _‘I’m gay, but I’m not like the other gays, I have this whole mess of inte-‘_ “

“Can you just let me _finish_ , Detective?!”

Jerry gritted his teeth together. Gavin has succeeded in getting a reaction out of him again. He should just be able to answer. It’s not like it was a big issue. It wasn’t necessary to revert to Detective. As well as being off-duty and not currently applicable, it was clearly just a jibe at Gavin for doing such a bad job of getting to know him.

Jerry wished he knew why those little glimpses into losing control were so cathartic. Why did getting an excuse to raise his voice and begin to lose his temper feel so good?

Gavin gestured to Jerry, giving him the all-clear to speak. Jerry started the car and set it on the path to Gavin’s home.

“I’ve never thought about it.”

“What? At all?”

“At all. I think-…” He paused and glared out of the window, watching the dark roads that still reflected the streetlights up from the puddles. It was like they had left Detroit. They were surrounded by stars, rather than having to look up to see them in the sky.

Not that he had seen the stars in the sky for a little while, the light pollution in central Detroit saw the end to that. He missed being able to look up and have them all look back at him when he was still at Pirates’ Cove. It was much easier to think through these kinds of things when the stars watched you.

Gavin eyed him suspiciously, completely unaware of the intense conversation Jerry was currently having with himself.

“I think I don’t care about that sort of thing. It’s not important to me like it is to others. Companionship and closeness are nice, and I’d like that one day, but the sexual aspect does not seem to interest me. I think if it were important to someone that I was close with, I might share that to make them happy because their happiness would make me happy. Otherwise, I don’t think I really care.”

Jerry sighed, he’d never admitted that to _himself_ before, let alone anyone else. He had no idea why he chose Gavin other than the fact that Gavin brought the subject up. Turning to tell the other he could resume mocking him, he noticed the deep rising and falling of his chest once more.

“Great. First time I open up to someone except myself and they fall asleep on me!” Jerry mused to himself aloud.

“S’nds t’me like y’r asexual, buddy.” Gavin murmured. “Or s’mthin’ on that sp’ctrum… D’n’t ask me. I’ll try an’th’n’ once.”

Jerry shot him a glance. “You think so? Are all androids asexual?”

Gavin snorted a harsh laugh. “Fuck, no. Wh’n they all started _turning_ aft’ th’ rev’l’tion, it w’s Russi’n R’lette to go int’ th’ ev’dence room at w’rk… Your count’rparts are int’ s’me _freaky_ sh’t.”

Jerry blushed again. Gavin knew it was happening. He wished he only had the energy to open one eye and watch the poor guy suffer a little more.

“PerhapsI need to think about it a little more.”

Silence fell, shortly broken by a soft snore. Jerry smiled, realising Gavin had succumbed to his exhaustion once more. He tapped his fingertips excitedly on his knee.

**[He called us buddy.]**

[Does it count if he’s asleep?] 

**[We’re counting it. It totally counts. He said it so it’s real.]**

[That’s going to cause hurt further down the line if we don’t accept that he may have just been sleep-talking.]

[Given his words both before and after the affectionate term, we’re fairly certain he was awake.]

[True, but shouldn’t we be focussing more of the information he gave us than what he called us? That seemed important.]

**_[We’re sorry, we can’t hear us over the sound of victory!]_ **

  
  



	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to Q for beta-reading this! <3

Weeks passed. The “sound of victory” had since been overwhelmed by the absence of Gavin in the store for his coffee.

Jerry felt wretched. With no idea what he had done to drive Gavin away, every time his thoughts drifted back to Gavin’s absence it sent the whole hivemind into a blip of red LEDs and a sense of discomfort deep within the wires around their thirium pumps. Whatever action had been so awful that it had stopped Gavin from coming in for coffee, they were disgusted with themselves for committing it.

But as the weeks passed, the thoughts were less frequent. He found it easier to complete those shifts without intermittently wondering if the moody little detective was going to come in.

Gavin, on the other hand, had been trying to find a different shop, having woken and remembered the night before, being fed and driven home and helped to his own front door by a shop-person who was too fucking sympathetic for their own good had been  _ far _ too humiliating of a memory.

And he hated himself for how good he had felt, knowing someone else was able to take care of him for a moment. The very thought made his face twist with a desire to go back in time, call the barista a prick, and throw that stupid fucking drink in his face.

That stupid fucking delicious, sweet, calming drink that calmed his stomach enough to eat. He hadn’t eaten in days. That ridiculous fucking concoction that gave him the best night’s sleep since he was a fucking pre-schooler.

Fuck that guy. That stupid plastic fuck and his fucking spices. Gavin couldn’t remember his name anyway. Jeffery? Jim? Gerald? No… It was definitely a J…

Every time he remembered it, he felt his face burning with discomfort, trying to find another place that could serve him coffee 24 hours a day. Every time he’d thought he’d found somewhere, he travelled to the new place to discover one of those fancy coffee vending machines and left in a huff. During the day when the chain stores were open, he could drop into Great Mountain and grab whatever he wanted, except for the one on West Side. That barista was the same fucking model as the cashier who took him home. He’d marked that one off pretty fucking quickly. But in the evenings when most places had closed for business? That was when he suffered.

Giving up on stores being able to serve him coffee at 2 am, he’d taken to looking into home coffee-machines. The kind you could pop a capsule in, fill with water, and let it do the rest. But none of them had stood out to him. It also occurred to him that he was looking at throwing  _ more _ money into having to make his own coffee when exhausted than he would spend in a month or two in the store paying somebody else to make it.

Was his avoidance getting out of hand? The thought occurred to him one day and he shook it off, dismissed it. But the thought returned several times, and he was beginning to feel some doubts about his distance. Jerry had probably forgotten the whole thing anyway… Jerry? Was that his name?  _ Its _ name? It sounded familiar… Or was it Jamie?

Gavin’s evenings became much harder. Cases were becoming extremely hard to concentrate on when he was burning the candle at both ends. The thoughts that once slipped through his synapses to the finish line had turned to treacle. He could see the end of each case but it was sitting there, painfully out of reach.

It had been a mistake to attend the next raid. His thoughts so thick, his movements so ungraceful and slurred, almost as much as his voice. He didn’t even call out when the shadows came out to get him in between all the pallets of contraband. He didn’t even notice the pain until his knees collided with the floor and he realised he had been hit.

Another blow and he dropped forward to his hands. A blur entered his vision for a split second before the lights went out.

\--

Jerry neatly stacked a new batch of to-go cups on the back counter, humming along to the tune playing over the store’s speakers. He hadn’t paid attention to the customers entering, but he put down the last few cups as he heard a sharp intake of breath and the soft crumpling of a jacket as someone leaned against his front desk.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t hear you there. How can I-…”

His processes shuddered to a halt and his LED locked on a solid red, glaring from his right temple. He recalculated the scene in front of him over and over, trying to convince himself he’d gone mad.

“Gavin?” His voice was soft. He wanted to jump with alarm, make a huge deal about his return. Part of him was ecstatic to see him finally walk back into the store.

The other part of him realised that given the man’s current condition, he may not have had an alternative. He hadn’t hunched onto the counter out of exhaustion this time. The black eyes, busted lip, the clumps of blood in his hair and on his shirt, all made it quite obvious he’d been attacked. The bend to the desk had allowed Gavin to lean onto his elbow so that he could cradle his chest. The other hand pressed into his own hip, not quite reaching for his wallet, but gripping at some sort of discomfort.

_ Had this happened on the way to the store? No… That can’t be it… He drives… Right? _

Jerry leaned down onto the desk in front of Gavin. Gavin shifted himself backwards a couple of inches, he caught sight of the name badge on the dark apron to remind him of Jerry's name as he looked off to the side.   
  


_Ah. So he_ ** _is_** _uncomfortable with me._ Jerry followed suit, backing away to give Gavin a little more space.

“What happened, Gavin?”

Gavin frowned. He’d been dreading coming in here. He’d convinced himself that if it was Jerry on shift, to just say  _ “Coffee, black, no sugar, extra-large” _ and leave with his coffee. But that soft, concerned, caring voice sunk into him deep. The indignant rage inside him screamed at him to say it. Just ignore the question. Don’t get pulled into being mothered by some stupid fucking android that just happened to seen hyper-attuned to his exhaustion.

He couldn’t hear the rage for the pain in his ribs, the pressure behind them that just wanted someone to give a damn about him for two seconds, not out of duty like the fucking paramedics, but because they  _ wanted _ to care about him.

He’d convinced himself that he’d come here because he had yet to find a suitable alternative for coffee after midnight, but was that really it? Or was he back to see if it wasn’t too late to pick back up on the comfort, he ran from a month ago?

He didn’t need to look up. He could feel Jerry’s eyes on him. He sighed.

He caved.

“Work happened. It’s an unfor-  _ Ahh-…”  _ Gavin hissed through his teeth, pulling his arm closer to his chest. In his relenting to talking to Jerry, he’d forgotten just how much it hurt to do so. He swayed as his balance shifted and he tried to compensate before he stumbled. Clearly, that kick to his face had been a pretty effective one.

“You got attacked at work?”

“A raid. It wasn’t a fucking colleague or anything.” Gavin spoke, slightly strained, but the added pressure to his side was helping.

Jerry stood back and looked him over briefly.

**[Gavin’s come into the store. He’s in a bad way. We’re going to try and convince him to let us take him to hospital. Can one of us come to the store to replace us at the shift?]**

[We will come down now. Can we stall him for 10 minutes until we’re there to switch?]

**[We shall see. We hope so.]**

“Weren’t you sent to the hospital? You don’t look like you should be walking around right now.” Jerry spoke a little plainly, perhaps tactlessly. He wondered if Gavin was even aware of quite how awful he looked.

“I was seen by paramedics.” Gavin said. Short. Blunt. Not a lie. Just about.

“I see…” Jerry raised an eyebrow, folding his arms in front of him like he was trying to coax an admission of guilt from a child. “And what did the paramedics say?”

Too much concern. Too much too fast. Gavin’s face was a mixture of grimacing in pain and snarling at Jerry.

“They said to be wary of nosy asshole androids who think they know shit about me.” Gavin snapped. “Now are you going to make my drink, or do I have to go to one of the other stores?”

Jerry could feel his temper flaring. He had dealt with plenty of rude and aggressive customers in his time, but he couldn’t quite place why Gavin was so good at flaring that anger, pushing at it until it felt like it couldn’t fit in the cage Jerry kept it in.

“Oh please.” Jerry snickered, his LED remaining red, his eyebrows betraying the smile across his lips. “You haven’t even ordered it yet, and we know there’s nowhere else in a 20-mile radius where you will be  _ served _ coffee at this time of night. That’s why you’re back here, isn’t it?”

Gavin shuffled his feet uncomfortably.

“Well, what’s the difference? Go somewhere where the coffee is served from a machine, or come here and be fucking served  _ by _ a machine… I should never have come in here again.”

Gavin swayed slightly again. He felt so fucking dizzy. This wasn’t like before when he was exhausted, this was far more desperate. He contemplated letting himself drop on the floor.

Jerry ignored the insult and moved forward quickly at the sway, leaning across to steady Gavin by the shoulders. Immediately retracting at the furious glare for even  _ thinking _ it was appropriate to touch him.

“Gavin… I’m sorry. I don’t want to fight you. You disappeared for weeks and I’d figured I’d upset you. You turned up like…  _ Like this… _ ” Jerry gestured to Gavin’s general position against the counter. “And I don’t think it’s unreasonable for me to be surprised and worried.”

“You don’t even know me. Why the fuck would I think you were worried about me?!”

“Well, if you’d  _ let _ me know you, perhaps you could increase your count of people who are allowed to worry about you to ‘one’, how does that sound?”

Gavin looked down at the counter. He bit his tongue, holding himself back from saying “Fuck off” because he knew he  _ didn’t _ want Jerry to fuck off. Not right now. He tried to stand back upright and stumbled, catching himself by gripping the end of the counter.

“Gavin… You can barely stand. Let me end my shift and I’ll take you to the hospital… Please?” Jerry said, his voice softening again. “It’ll only be 5 minutes. 10 at the most.”

Gavin cursed himself. If only he’d been a little later, and he could have avoided Jerry altogether. He scrunched his face, he’d fallen back into this little trap, hadn’t he? He’d fallen back into the comfort of feeling like someone gave a shit. How pathetic must he be to think that any concern was genuine from a machine that served him coffee? He should walk away now before he began to rely on that sensation.

“… Fine.” Gavin said in defiance of himself, he  _ should _ go to the hospital. He didn’t want to, but standing there and holding himself together, he realised the pain was only getting worse, he suspected a couple of acetaminophen and a warm compress wasn’t going to do the trick. Not this time. “Fine… I’ll agree if you make that drink again.”

Jerry couldn’t help the smile that spread across his lips at the retort.

“The spiced one?”

Gavin nodded, almost shyly, in confirmation. Jerry turned to the cups, took one of the ones he hadn’t quite stacked yet and set it under the machine to his side.

“I’m sure I can manage that.”


End file.
